Arunachal Pradesh: Road connectivity between Aalo-Menchuka damaged

June 4, 2020: Due to incessant rainfall over the last few days in Arunachal Pradesh, the road connectivity of the bridge to the town of Mechuka in Shi Yomi district with Aalo has been damaged.

Mechuka Valley, a tourist hotspot, is the last town of the state which is located about 29 km from the China border.

It stands completely cut-off for the last two days as large portions of the Mechuka-Aalo road were washed away by heavy rainfall at several locations.

This road is a very important and strategic road for facilitating the movement of people, defence personnel, and the transportation of essential commodities. This poses a threat to the safety and security of Arunachal Pradesh in general and Mechuka in particular from neighbouring China. Thus it becomes imperative for the road connectivity to be restored as soon as possible.

Pasang Dorjee Sona, Mechuka MLA and speaker of the Arunachal Legislative Assembly appealed to the Border Road Organization to restore the road as soon as possible as air connectivity is also not possible due to prevailing unpleasant weather conditions. He has also appealed to the people to avoid travelling in the route without gathering necessary information about the route from the district administration.

Mechuka is a small town located above 6000 feet above sea level. It is about 29km from the McMahon Line which separates India from China.

ITBP camps have been made in the town and the Air Force also has one advance landing ground for any kind of emergency.

Vehicles carrying essential commodities to Mechuka and nearby areas are all stranded in various areas along the Mechuka-Aalo road.

Continual rainfall has also led to disorderly communication in the state and has given rise to large scale devastation in the entire state due to landslides and floods.